Tag Archives: Marijuana

On Friday, news broke that Donald Trump’s 2018 budget would reportedly cut the budget of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by almost 95 percent. According to CNN, who got the draft themselves, this means the ONDCP would fall “from a $380 million budget to $24 million.”

Libertarians and other anti-prohibitionists should be careful not to celebrate too early. The drug war, like life, tends to find a way. The draft memo justifies these cuts mostly in terms of redundancy. And we will still have a DEA, Chris Christie’s shiny new anti-opioid task force, and myriad federal, state, and local drug laws. Drug warriors may be having a bad day, but they shouldn’t panic too much.

As a California resident, when I hear public policy news from my state making the headlines, it’s usually bad. This week was an exception. In November, California residents will vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana use. The initiative, Adult Use of Marijuana Act, would let people age 21 and older purchase, possess, and transport up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants for recreational use.

Marijuana, to an extent, is legal in California. To buy marijuana, one only needs a medical card which is prescribed by a doctor. Residents can tell a doctor that they have one of many symptoms, and you can receive a recommendation for a medical marijuana card. The whole process does not take more than a short visit.

Marijuana legalization has many potential benefits. It can save the state hundreds of millions of dollars in spending on prisons and law enforcement. A study by the Tax Foundation found: “If all states legalized and taxed marijuana, states could collectively expect to raise between $5 billion and $18 billion per year. If marijuana is made legal, it will also drive down demand for importing it from Mexico, reducing the crime and violence that comes with the drug war there. There are also unseen benefits. It is difficult to find a job with a drug conviction. If persons are allowed to use marijuana freely without a drug conviction on their record, they may find employment more easily.

The War on Drugs disproportionately affects minority populations. Richard Nixon began the War on Drugs in 1971, calling drugs a major public enemy.Yet, his former domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman saidrecently, “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.” Not only did the War on Drugs fail, it incarcerated men and women, ripping them from their family, and forcing a cycle of poverty and oppression on everyone it touched.

This marijuana initiative is not perfect. If passed, it is expected to bring $1 billion dollars of revenue to the local and state annually.

It is laudable that California looks to take a step toward legalizing marijuana and embracing all the benefits of legalization. Whether it’s increasing revenues for a state or reducing its nonviolent prison population, marijuana legalization is a win for everyone.

Atlantic City has every reason to thrive. With legal gambling, coastal beaches, prime entertainment events, and fine dining, the resort town should be flourishing.

But as most of the country knows, Atlantic City is in decline.

Extremely expensive and extravagant casinos are closingwhile thousands of jobs are being lost. Human capital is leaving in droves and the once salubrious city is now more reminiscent of a ghost town with a beach motif. Mayor Don Guardian has even contemplated the city declaring bankruptcy.